10% Off WikiFresh

Say When

The YWCA of Hawaii Island will honor local immigration lawyer Rose Bautista and public relations professional Barbara Hastings as its 2016 Remarkable People.

Barbara Hastings

The pair will be honored at the eighth annual Remarkable Person Luncheon Thursday, June 2, at 11:30 a.m. at the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel, Moku Ola Ballroom.

Rose Bautista

“The YWCA is proud to recognize Barbara and Rose for their achievements and leadership,” said Kathleen McGilvray, CEO of YWCA of Hawaii Island. “These glass-ceiling-breaking women have inspired those around them with their raw dedication in business and commitment to helping women, children and community.”

For more than a quarter century, Bautista has helped immigrants with legal matters, and is a tireless advocate on their behalf. Hastings, a former newspaper journalist and founding partner of Hastings & Pleadwell: A Communication Company (H&P) has provided thought-leadership and support to clients and community groups across Hawaii.

There are a limited number of tickets and sponsorship opportunities available. For more information or to purchase tickets, contact Naomi at the YWCA of Hawaii Island office at 930-5705 or via email: tuyemura@ywcahawaiiisland.org.

Bautista was born in Sinait Ilocos Sur, Philippines. She immigrated to the United States at age seven and was raised in North Kohala. Bautista received her bachelors in political science from Mount St. Mary’s College in 1983. She went on to earn a Juris Doctor in 1989 from the Seattle University School of Law, formerly the University of Puget Sound School of Law. In 1990, she opened the Law Offices of Rose Y. Bautista in Washington State and practiced immigration and personal injury law. Bautista was appointed immigration specialist for Hawaii County in 2001. She was instrumental in bringing the Honolulu Philippine Consulate General to Hawaii Island for the first Consulate on Wheels service, and initiated the county’s first Citizenship Day celebration.

Bautista’s experience of immigrating and adjusting to a new country served as a foundation for her understanding, empathy and zealous advocacy for immigrant communities.

She is founder of Ating Bahay, a group dedicated to addressing domestic violence in the immigrant community, and is a representative to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, a component of the Department of Homeland Security. Bautista is an active member of the Washington State Bar Association and a member of many law associations. She is the Children and Youth Group coordinator of Malia Puka O Kalani Catholic Church in Keaukaha and sits on the boards of St. Joseph School and Micronesians United Big Island. Bautista is past president of the Filipino Chamber of Commerce and for years has volunteered with Filipino associations around the island. In 2013, she received the Purple Ribbon Award in recognition for her work in domestic violence prevention. Bautista lives in Hilo and is married to Steve Bader. They have two college-age children, Sam and Alexa.

Hastings has been a public relations professional in Hawaii for a quarter century. She has been a newspaper journalist and professional communicator for 40 years in Honolulu and on the Mainland. As a journalist, she worked as both editor and reporter, and for a time specialized in energy and science reporting. She has received local and national recognition for her writing, campaign strategy and crisis management.

Hastings was the communication director for the Hawaii Department of Health in the early 1990s, and helped the Office of Hawaiian Affairs with communication strategies in the mid 90s. She worked for the Honolulu Advertiser, Trenton (NJ) Times and earned a fellowship to Stanford University for her energy writing.

H&P, which has offices in Honolulu and Hilo, is celebrating its twentieth anniversary. In 2007, Hastings and partner Barbra Pleadwell received the Small Business Administration’s Champion of Women in Business Award for Hawaii and Region IX.

Hastings is deeply involved with organizations that advance community wellbeing. She sits on the boards of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Hawaii, Hawaii Public Radio, the Lyman Museum and Zonta International District 9. She is area director for Zonta’s Hawaii Clubs and is past president of the Hawaii Island Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club of Hilo Bay and Zonta Club of Hilo. Hastings is married to retired journalist Mike Middlesworth. She has one daughter, Rhea Olsen, and two grandsons, Logan and Brendan.

The YWCA of Hawaii Island has named local real estate executive Sharon Scheele and culinary specialist Audrey Wilson as its 2014 Remarkable People.

The pair will be honored at the Remarkable Person Luncheon Wednesday, April 9, 2014, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., at the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel, Moku Ola Room. The event will be hosted by Sherry Bracken, Hawaii Public Radio news reporter and LAVA-FM 105.3/KKOA-FM 107.7 program host.

“The YWCA is proud to pay tribute to these remarkable women for their significant achievements,” said Kathleen McGilvray, CEO of YWCA Hawaii Island. “Sharon and Audrey have been trailblazers in their respective fields and in their commitment to helping women, children and the community.”

Sharon Scheele

Scheele has lived in Hilo since 1969. She was born in Oklahoma, raised in El Paso, Texas and lived in Los Angeles, Portland and Honolulu. Since 1972, she’s been involved in real estate; she and husband Al Inoue organized Inoue Hawaii Realty Corporation in 1978 and together, they led a team that converted the Hilo Lagoon Hotel into a residential/commercial condominium known as The Hilo Lagoon Centre. Scheele has long served the Hawaii Island community. She was the first woman president of the Hawaii Island Chamber of Commerce, president of the Zonta Club of Hilo, and was instrumental in building the Chamber’s business scholarship funds for the University of Hawaii at Hilo and Hawaii Community College. She is current president of the Board of Junior Achievement of Hawaii Island. She has served on numerous community boards.

Audrey Wilson

Wilson was born and raised in Hilo. She retired as Cold Drink Manager from Coca Cola Bottling Company in Hilo and transformed her lifelong passion for food into a new vocation, including a catering business, AJ and Sons, with her son, Dean. Wilson headlines the weekly Let’s Talk About Food column in the Hawaii Tribune-Herald, is a guest contributor to the Food Network Magazine and has published three cookbooks. She is a director of Big Island Wellness Solutions and launched a culinary career starter program at Big Island Substance Abuse Council. She is a culinary arts instructor at Hawaii Community College and for the Junior Chefs program at E.B. DeSilva Elementary School. Wilson was President of Hawaii Island United Way. She is co-owner and baker for AJ’s Volcano Cottage and Studio.

Both women are past presidents of their Rotary Clubs.

There are a limited number of tickets and sponsorship opportunities still available. For more information or to purchase tickets, call Rachel Amar at the YWCA of Hawaii Island at 935-6067 x121 or email her at ramar@ywcahawaiiisland.org.